The Convention on Biological Diversity recognises the role of women in the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity resources and reaffirms the need to guarantee their full participation at all levels of policy making and execution. Nevertheless, women’s ethnobotanical knowledge and medicinal knowledge are often unexplored and undervalued. Special attention should be paid to the significant value of the ancestral knowledge possessed by women. Local medicine specialists and herbalists are often women, especially in Africa and Asia.
